A deeply and ardent believer, Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin (1743–1816) in his ode “God” tried to analyze what the Creator is and how a person is presented to him. He did not go on beaten paths, but created a personal unique portrait of God - the Creator of all things.
A Brief History of the Ode
As the author writes in the comments, inspiration came to him on the Sunday of Christ in 1780. After the all-night service, he wrote down the first lines. The time in the Senate took his time, and he could not concentrate on sublime thoughts. The beginning was laid on the table. During his service in 1784, the ruler of the Olonets region, he found time and left alone near Narva. In the inn, he worked for several days, but the end of the ode was not given to him. He fell asleep in the middle of the night, never ending an ode. Suddenly the poet woke up, the light shone in his eyes.
In a surge of strength and divine inspiration, bursting into tears, he finished the last lines. So he created a truly brilliant work by Gabriel Derzhavin. Ode "God" to him, of course, was prompted by the Creator.
Brief analysis and content analysis at the same time
The ode contains ten stanzas, each of which consists of ten lines.
In the first stanza, the author tries to define God. It has no end, no beginning, one, incomprehensible, all-encompassing. And this is all true truth, if we start from the modern concept of the Creator. His contemporaries, representatives of the church, opposed the fact that God contains infinite space, continuous life and endless time.
According to their ideas, it turned out that not only everything created by the Creator has a beginning and an end, which is true, but life in the Universe is finite, which is fundamentally wrong. Ode "God" Derzhavin, whose analysis has begun, is approaching modern concepts of eternity and infinity of the universe. Here Derzhavin was ahead of the theological ideas of his time.
Stanzas Two and Three: Creation from Chaos
They allegorically talk about the creation of the earth. Also in these verses it is said that it is impossible to fully comprehend the plan of the Creator, one can only guess that it was not an arbitrary process, but directed: the creation from chaos of the whole, subject to laws that are still unknown to man. For a long time, a person will have to comprehend the plan of the Creator, measure the depths of the oceans, and explore the light coming from stars and planets.
The poet foresaw what astrophysics would later do, comprehending subtle laws. He was not based on the biblical creation of our world for seven days. In any case, the poet does not say anything about this. The ode “God” of Derzhavin tells us about the eternal existence of the Creator. The analysis and discoveries made by great scientists in their works, such as Newton, Einstein, Pasteur, Pavlov (people of faith), only confirms what the poet said.
Verse Four: Infinity of Worlds ...
In it Derzhavin speaks of the creation of many suns by God. Without knowing this for sure, he feels the infinity of the worlds that the Creator created. This is a new step forward made by the ode “God” Derzhavin, we are analyzing it now.
Verses 5 and 6: who are we before the Creator?
Here Derzhavin argues by whom he appears before God. He compares himself with a drop, a point before his greatness. But then he says that some divine features are also inherent in him. He does not specify them. Modern theologians believe, based on the Bible, that God is inherent in anger, grin, charm and disappointment. He endowed people with these traits. Ode "God" Derzhavin, the analysis of which continues, is consistent with our ideas about the nature of man, which was created in the likeness of God.
Stanzas seventh, eighth and ninth: a hymn to a little man
They sound like a continuation of a topic started about a person. A man delves into everything, he thinks, he reasones, he connects everything. An analysis of Derzhavin’s poem “God” (ode) shows that it begins to sound like a hymn to a little man: he is a king, a slave, a worm, and a god! He feels not only his smallness, but also feels greatness. And this is an inexplicable miracle that could not happen by itself. Who created it? Creator.
Stanza ten: return to basics
Now the poet, who created man with his wisdom — the Creator, directly speaks. And only in death will a person return to his Father and dissolve in him, like a river or a brook flowing into the great ocean.
Stanza eleventh - final
She is the most important. No wonder the poet worked painfully over her, but she was not given to him. God appears before him in all incomprehensible and inexplicable greatness. The imagination of the soul is powerless to draw even its shadow. And it is right. Man is not given to imagine the Creator. According to the Bible, He appeared to people, taking the image of fire. And what he really is, no one knows. According to Derzhavin, everyone should praise him. But how to honor God to a weak mortal?
Only one thing is to try to rise at least a little above your sins and thereby draw closer to Him. From this the poet shed tears of gratitude for the path indicated to him. He encourages the reader to think deeply about the essence of God and man. About their unity and differences. This is the main idea of Derzhavin’s ode "God." The poem is long and complex. Each line has a deep meaning. We examined a very personal essay written by Derzhavin (ode to "God"). A summary of it is also set out. Now it’s time to turn to writing a plan for the essay.
Analysis of the ode "God" Derzhavin according to plan
The poet suggested the best option:
- Definition of what God is.
- World creation.
- Infinity of space and time.
- The creation of man in the image of God.
- Anthem to man.
- Who created man, and to whom he will return.
- How to approach God when he is incomprehensible?
Poetic analysis
It is possible to make a slightly different analysis of Derzhavin’s poem “God”. Ode is a solemn work. She is usually dedicated to some event. In this case, the Creator became her hero. Ode requires emphasized solemnity. Therefore, there are so many archaic, non-everyday words and definitions. Since Derzhavin wrote an ode on a religious theme, there are a lot of Church Slavonic vocabulary in it. The reader of that time perceived it easily. Having been at least once a day at a mass or liturgy, which is one and the same thing, he was fluent in this language, which is hardly given to a modern student.
It is impossible not to tell the student that the great W. Blake wrote the poem "God." Look at her 5th stanza, also A. Feta “Not that the Lord is powerful ...”. They are written in accessible Russian and have something in common with Derzhavin's ode. The author’s religious enthusiasm, his philosophical design is conveyed through solemn exclamations and antitheses. “I am nothing before you,” the author exclaims and continues with enthusiasm further: “But you shine in me.” In the 9th stanza, a striking antithesis, where the author, mixing himself with mud, rises to the heights of the spirit. He himself was shocked by the judgment, which involuntarily escaped from him, and ended the sentence with an exclamation.
His thought is aphoristic. In the last stanza - the key to the whole ode: man is small and insignificant, but he can and must develop and rise, becoming like the Creator.
An ode plan can be made differently
- The story of the ode.
- Dedication to God (first five stanzas).
- The face of man before the Creator (6, 7, 8, 9, and 10th stanzas).
- Conclusion
Ode "God" should be seen as a wonderful example of philosophical lyrics.